


When the World Crumbled

by goldenhand9107



Category: The Gifted (TV 2017)
Genre: Episode: s02e06 iMprint, Gen, Missing Scene, Reed Strucker Centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2021-01-13 14:50:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21149357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenhand9107/pseuds/goldenhand9107
Summary: Missing Scene in 2x06. Fills in the gaps between the mutants escaping the Purifiers and everyone getting home.





	When the World Crumbled

His arms pulsated with the ferocity of a dying heart. Reed panted, sweat dripping down his back, breaths hitching in his throat as he attempted to process everything that was happening. He stared at the newly created hole in the wall, concrete crumbling under a faint red glow. His mind flashed to when Andy tore apart the wall in the parking garage on the mission with Marcos; he couldn’t help but sense the similarities between the two situations. 

Reed was shaken from his thoughts by Marcos yelling at the other members of the Underground to run, his voice resonating with urgency. Reed stepped through the hole, leading the fray through the tunnels. They were barren, worn, and musty, but none of that mattered as they ran for their lives. Reed shouted at everyone to pick up pace, his mind focused on escape. 

They shuffled quickly through the tunnels, Marcos still holding Clarice bridal style, and John fading in and out of consciousness as he was lugged by the other mutants. Reed turned to look at the young boy behind him when they came to a fork. He pointed to the right, rushing in front of Reed to take the role as leader; realization struck him: they had prepared for this.

It took about 10 minutes for them to reach the end of the tunnels, the young boy swiftly pushing open the door to the outside world. Their pace slowed once Reed had scanned the area around them. It looked like a run down factory, with generators, transformers, and power lines humming around them. He jogged to the road nearby, and looked around for any indicators of the Purifiers, pickup trucks or sideways black and white crosses. When he saw nothing, he inhaled deeply, and prayed they would make it home without anymore trouble.

He sauntered back over to the group. Marcos had placed Clarice on a cube shaped generator, checking her breathing and pulse. John had shooed away the people supporting him, and was now leaned over, hands on his knees, head drooping from failure. Everyone was panting from fear and exhaustion, and they looked towards Reed once he approached.

“There’s no sign of Turner or the other Purifiers. If we hurry, we could get out of this area without risking running into them again.” He was straightforward and pragmatic. Their primary focus was to get out of here as quickly as possible. With Clarice out of commission, they would need to find transport nearby; Reed hoped they would be lucky enough to find a lot with cars to hot wire, as heading back towards the church for the cars they came in was far too risky. 

He noticed that everyone was staring at him. They weren’t contributing to his brainstorming, or making discussions at all. They all just gazed at him with a type of confusion, fear, and….something else Reed couldn’t recognize. John looked almost disappointed, and he directed his question to him the most. 

“What is it?” He asked. John kept his eyebrows furrowed, as he glanced downward slightly. It was a moment before it dawned on him: his arms still burned and buzzed from his powers. He looked at his them and saw that they were still red and veiny. It never turned off. 

Reed started to panic, clenching and unclenching his hands, doing whatever he could to make them turn normal. Marcos looked on with a sense of worry; the older mutant guessed John never told him about his manifesting powers. Reed stumbled slightly from absentmindedness, and John jumped into action, rushing over, his stern voice echoing in Reed’s mind.

“Reed. You need to listen to me.” They made eye contact, his heart racing with fear. “Remember what I said? You need to control your emotions in order control your powers, alright?” John’s voice sounded distant, and he looked back down at his hands. Reed knew what he was saying but he wasn’t processing it. His words passed through his thoughts with the importance of a soft wind, acknowledged but not remembered. He was laser focused on his abilities, struggling to climb over them and hit the off switch.

“I can’t–“ He coughed out, words catching in this throat. His hands trembled. “I can’t turn it off.” He said shakily, looking up at John once more. He saw pity. Perhaps John had once been in his place, many years ago, back when he was learning to control his own abilities. Except the difference being, John was a kid. Reed was a fully grown adult, going through what could only be described as mutant puberty. He felt like a volcano, energy oozing out of him like red, veiny, lava. Once he erupted, he couldn’t stop. 

“I know that Reed, but you need to listen to every word I’m saying.” John urged again. He reached towards Reed’s arm, trying to ground him in anyway he could. At that, Reed jumped backward before John could touch him. He hadn’t learned what would happen when he used his powers on a person, and he certainly wasn’t planning on testing that right now. The younger man seemed to get this and sighed from understanding. Everyone else continued to watch, with Marcos’ attention switching from the spectacle in front of him and Clarice. He held the same urgency of escape Reed had, and so initially wanted to tell the mutant to suck it up. However, he feared what his interference would do; he’d been his spot before, struggling to get a handle on abilities. It certainly could be explosive. So he remained quiet, and let the wise John Proudstar guide the frightened man back to normalcy. He turned back to Clarice.

John inhaled to say something again, but at that moment, he heard a snippet of a car engine coming their way. He groaned in his mind, realizing that there was no time for a pep talk with the struggling mutant. It was a choice between Reed’s control or the groups survival, and John made the quick decision to lead them to safety. Reed could hold out for a bit.

“Okay, Reed I need you to stay calm for a minute. Marcos, there is a Purifier truck coming right towards us.” He said sternly, directing his attention away from Reed, who’s hands continued to shake. 

“You two,” he gestured to the two mutants who helped him through the tunnels. “Get the rest of them out of here. There’s a lot around the side of the building with a few empty cars. One of you carry Clarice, okay?” He almost yelled. They nodded quickly and began shuffling frightened Underground members towards the parking lot, the younger man picking up Clarice as Marcos had carried her. John looked at Marcos. 

“You need to help me get him to the car without touching his arms.” John motioned to Reed. They silently acknowledged the fact that neither of them knew what would happen if they actually came into contact with Reed’s hands. Reed, at this point, was so preoccupied with fear and intent to turn off his abilities, barely noticed the conversation going on around him. 

“What do we do, carry him?” Marcos asked annoyed. He was overwhelmed and scared for their group, and the approaching Purifiers weren’t helping. 

“When were you planning on telling me about this John?” Marcos sauntered over to the elder man, pissed as his friend for keeping something like this. “Don’t you think it would’ve been better if the group knew? For the sake of our safety?” At Marcos’ comments, Reed was shaken from his trance. They were the blunt force he needed and they woke Reed from his shut out state. John and Marcos realized he was aware again, and made motions for him to follow as they started to run. Reed slowly began to jog behind them towards the car, hands still pulsating from red energy. 

“I thought we had enough on our plate, alright Marcos?” John answered back as they were running. They turned left and headed towards the lot. Reed reflexively braced himself on the corner of the building as they made the sharp turn, but his powers caused the concrete to crumble under his fingers. He yelped as he lost his balance and fell onto the asphalt, hands continuing to disintegrate the ground underneath him. John and Marcos both stopped to turn around, Marcos reaching out to help him up from instinct. 

“No!” Reed refused his hand, and Marcos realized. He picked himself up, and shoved his embarrassment to the back of his mind as they resumed running. 

When the reached the car, the Purifiers vehicle could be seen speeding towards them. The rest of the mutants had already piled into a large van, the drivers and passenger seat open for John and Marcos. Reed took a deep breath as he climbed into the van, holding his arms close to his chest and moving to the back, far away from the other mutants. As John hot-wired the car, Marcos went on defense, and shot beams of light at the tires of the truck. They burst and the truck skidded, and Marcos rushed to the other side of the van right as John started the car. 

Once they were clear of the Purifiers, a certainty that was confirmed by John’s senses after 15 minutes of anticipation, the group devolved into silence. The only sounds were the noises of the car, and a small humming and pulsing that people began to realize was coming from Reed. He sat curled up on the back bench, hands clenched in fists, shaking, as the only thing in his mind was, “_Stop. Just please stop_”.

Marcos glanced in the rearview. He turned around, to not only get a better look at Reed, but also Clarice, who was still unconscious and sprawled out on the metal floor of the van. He reached for her wrist, and her pulse felt normal. He only hoped she would wake up soon. 

He looked back up at the eldest Strucker. He was almost rocking back and forth like a terrified child. Marcos dug deep to think of the most comforting thing to say to the emerging mutant, how he could possibly give him some clarity on his situation. Discovering abilities that powerful that late in life must not only be terrifying but disorienting. He wondered how long it had been going on.

“Reed.” He said after a few more moments. Reed looked up at him with a seriousness Marcos found haunting.

“Don’t…….just don’t.” His voice trembled and he sounded like he was on the brink of tears. Or maybe he was already crying, but Marcos just couldn’t tell from this far away. He blinked, but accepted Reed’s implied request, and dropped the subject. The pulsing and faint red light continued to emanate the whole ride home. 

===================================================================

When John pulled into the lot outside their base, Reed was the first out. He exited as fast as he could, making care not to brush into anyone or the van. But when John went to help the others out of the car, he noticed a bit of red glow on one side of the door. He saw Marcos rush after the older man, but kept his focus on the others and Clarice, hoping Marcos would be able to handle the frightened Reed.

Once he was sure everyone was alright, and Clarice was safely in a hospital bed resting, John went to the door of the Strucker’s apartment. When he saw the door knob still intact, he assumed Marcos had let Reed in to keep him from destroying it. He entered and saw Marcos leaned up against the wall with his eyes closed, and a horrified Reed curled up in the corner of the kitchen. 

When Reed saw John enter he swiftly stood. “No. You-You can’t lecture me. Not now.” He stuttered, aggressively pointing at John, before he rushed towards the bedroom. John called after him, and Marcos followed. Reed stood by the entrance to the bedroom, back to the two men, staring at his hands. He turned, and slow tears of fear fell from his eyes. 

“My family…” He croaked out. It was as if he was first considering what Caitlin and Lauren would think. John was about to comfort him, but Reed stumbled backwards, hand planting on the corner of the bench in their room. It sizzled as it disintegrated, and Reed began to panic, grabbing onto anything he could to try and get his balance. John called out again, but Reed just stumbled to the corner of the bedroom, disintegrating bits of many objects in the room, including the dresser and the bed. He collapsed into a fetal position, hands trembling more, and John sighed as he realized that a pep talk was pointless. 

He pushed Marcos back into the kitchen. The latino man had residue of tears in his eyes, as seeing the usually grounded Reed so helpless was practically heartbreaking. He dropped into a chair in the kitchen and John joined him a few moments later. 

They sat in silence, dreading the moment Caitlin and Lauren would return.


End file.
